The Dynamism of Organizational Practices: The Role of Employment Blueprints |
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| Authors: | A. Georges L. Romme Elena P. Antonacopoulou Deborah E. M. Mulders M. Susan Taylor |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Eindhoven University of Technology, School of Industrial Engineering, , 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands;2. University of Liverpool Management School, GNOSIS, , Liverpool, L69 7ZH UK;3. Ordina Consulting, Business Process Management Department, , 3439 LM Nieuwegein, The Netherlands;4. University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business, Department of Management and Organization, , MD, 20742‐1815 USA |
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| Abstract: | This paper explores how founders’ blueprints affect the dynamism of organizational practices, and in particular the capability to sustain as well as change practices. First, a theoretical argument is developed on the critical role of founders’ blueprints of the employment model, which are difficult to alter and mark firms’ future paths by affecting the dynamism of organizational practices over an extended period of time. Subsequently, case studies of several organizational practices in three management consulting firms in the USA, the Netherlands and the UK illustrate how founders’ conceptions of the employment relationship (i.e. their employment model) affect the way in which competing demands of continuity and renewal are addressed. Moreover, engineering‐ or commitment‐oriented blueprints appear to facilitate the capability to adapt, while autocratic blueprints do not. |
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